Seattle Mariners: Having Survived a Tough Stretch, Team Could Now Glide

A month or two ago, if I told you that the Mariners would be just a half game out of first place after winning a series against the Phillies (in which the lone loss was pinned on Felix Hernandez), I'd expect you to laugh at me.

But that's right where the Mariners are.

Beginning on May 27th, when the Yankees came to town, the Mariners played a stretch of 23 games against teams with a collective record of 266-236. While Seattle got to face Minnesota, Baltimore and Anaheim, they also had to face the aforementioned Yankees, Rays, Tigers and Phillies.

It's pretty amazing that this club, with all their offensive woes, made it through that stretch with a 13-10 record.

There isn't much of a mystery here—the Mariners' pitching has been fantastic and has carried them to a bunch of wins against superior teams. Their wins haven't come in many blowouts, but rather a bunch of low scoring affairs.